Michael Jermaine Burch, 21, of 322 Junction Road, was taken into custody as he was leaving his job at a discount department story Monday morning. He was charged with second-degree rape. An 18-year-old female Duke University student told officers that in the early-morning hours of Feb. 11 a man raped her in the bathroom of 405 Gattis St. during a party.

Police have released few other details about the case, including whether Burch, who is not a Duke student, had been invited to the party or if he knew anyone there. About 50 people were at the party at the time of the alleged assault, and police said that investigators focused on Burch after interviewing the victim and others at the party.

Tim Vaden, News & Observer:Suspects, identifications and the paper — A story last week on the latest Duke sex-crime case brought a flock of new complaints about an old issue. Why does The News & Observer not identify crime suspects by race? A news story Monday said that a female Duke student had reported being raped at a student party off-campus. The suspect was described as "being in his late teens or early 20s, about 6-foot-1 and wearing a black do-rag, a gray sweatshirt and blue jeans."

Reader Jim Darges asked why we didn't include the suspect's race, which had been released by Durham Police: "It would further narrow the suspect pool if the race is given. If you're not giving a complete and accurate description, then why do it at all?"

This column addressed the race identification question two years ago, but the number of calls and e-mails last week suggests that it's time to do it again. I brought the topic up at an in-house workshop last week, and it was clear there was confusion and disagreement among our own staff...LieStoppers:7A-66 Affidavit Template and Instructions — On Friday, we addressed the benefits of filing additional 7A-66 affidavits. In response, some have asked for direction on how to create and file their own affidavits. With that in mind, we have prepared a step by step outline of the process.

Step 1 - Create the 7A-66 affidavit

Using this template ( 7A-66 Affidavit ), follow the bracketed instructions located within the template for direction on where to enter your personal information.

Step 2 - Print 3 originals...You do not need to be a resident of Durham County to file an affidavit.John in Carolina: Piot hurt himself —Telling another academic to “Shut up and go back to teaching” is the way you end an ad hominem, which is just what Piot’s “lecture” was. (Taping of Piot’s remarks was not permitted except for an “official” taping by panel sponsors who haven’t released it...thinking back over a more than 30 year association with Duke, I can’t recall a single professor who, speaking at a public panel forum, said of another professor: “Shut up and go back to teaching.”

KC Johnson:Graceless — Grace, who regularly mocked principles of due process, allowed guests (such as the ubiquitous Wendy Murphy) to say virtually anything denouncing the players, while challenging even the mildest assertion suggesting the players’ innocence. And, when the case imploded, this television bully, who takes such joy in shouting down guests who challenge her views, was silent... Innuendo... Non-Existent Evidence... Factual Problems... Denigrating Skeptics..

This is the story of a hero. His name is Jim Regan. Friends call him Jimmy. He was born in Rockville Centre, N.Y., and grew up in Manhasset. By high school, at Chaminade High in Mineola, N.Y., he had become a top student and a gifted athlete and excelled in community efforts. He was named an all-American lacrosse player and all-state scholar for football and was given the Nassau County Sports Commission award for outstanding academic achievements, athletic achievements and service to the community.

Regan was recruited by Duke University and awarded a scholarship to attend the prestigious school and join its lacrosse team...

Editorial, Duke Chronicle:Common owes an explanation — Members of the Last Day of Classes Committee said they had two goals in mind when they began their search for artists this year: appeal and diversity. The committee wanted to create an event that would unify the campus on a shared musical ground, and Common and Jason Mraz appeared like the perfect choices.

Now, with the discovery of Common's critical freestyle comments against the Duke lacrosse team last spring, it appears that selecting him was an unfortunate mistake. Rather than unite the campus, Common's pending presence on campus only brings our community's fissures to the surface.

While most discussion has centered on the validity of the rapper's comments and the competence of the LDOC Committee, these are both moot points. Common will perform on the Main Quad this spring, and before he steps on stage he owes the Duke community an explanation...J. Matt Barber, Canadia Free Press:Hate Bloggers, Death Threats and Apologies Abound — Duke University Press, Pam Spaulding.... lesbian activist Pam Spaulding's anti-Christian site Pam's House Blend. Spaulding is an information technology manager with Duke University Press, and her employer appears quite proud of its blustering left-wing blogger. Duke Press has even publicly praised and promoted her blog activities, calling them a "mixture of snappy prose, funny postings and serious commentary."

So, just for fun, let's see if we can't yuck it up a bit with Duke University. Let's take a look at some of Spaulding's "snappy" and "funny" musings: On her blog -- among other things -- Spaulding regularly mocks both Christ and Christians by sarcastically referring to Jesus as "jeebus." She refers to Christians as both the "Am Taliban" (for American Taliban) and "bible beaters." ....

We've all seen how collectively stingy Duke University staff can be with apologies. Remember the ad the lynch mob -- er -- faculty hastily took out condemning the Duke Lacrosse team members accused of rape? They rendered judgment before the ink was dry on the arrest warrant but arrogantly refused to apologize even after it became abundantly clear that the accused would likely be exonerated.

Still, if Duke's stubborn liberal pride won't allow them to apologize for enabling, if not endorsing, Spaulding's hateful screeds, then at the very least Duke University President Richard H. Brodhead will surely denounce the threat made to LaBarbera's life on the very blog of which Duke is so proud...Forum topics of note: